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TagsMaplewood resident Christine Ebersole featured in Manhattan premiere
BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Should Broadway's spring slate of new musicals appear to be too frivolous ("The Addams Family") or unsurprising ("Sondheim on Sondheim") to your taste, let's direct your serious attention to "The Grapes of Wrath."
Fashioned by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and writer Michael Korie from John Steinbeck's epic novel about a dispossessed Dust Bowl family struggling through the Great Depression, "The Grapes of Wrath" won considerable praise in its 2007 premiere by the Minnesota Opera. "Musical America" hailed the work as "the great American opera."
A new concert version of "The Grapes of Wrath" is headed to Carnegie Hall for a one-night-only performance on March 22 featuring a particularly strong cast led by opera star Nathan Gunn and Broadway leading lady Victoria Clark. Jane Fonda will narrate the special two-hour presentation.
Another Broadway favorite, two-time Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole — a longtime resident of Maplewood — portrays several featured roles in the concert. Elizabeth Futral, Peter Halverson and Steven Pasquale are among other performers drawn from the worlds of opera and Broadway.
The Collegiate Chorale and the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ted Sperling ("The Light in the Piazza"), are integral musical components to the 8 p.m. presentation at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tickets range $25-$160. Call (212) 247-7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org.
